The future of the Vikings, part 1: The quarterbacks

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Re: The future of the Vikings, part 1: The quarterbacks

Post by chicagopurple »

Berger is a back up not a starter, on a true contender.

as far a RB, I really do think he will hedge his bet and continue on with one of our current guys. It wouldnt be so frustrating if we werent so very much on the cusp with the rest of the team. We have a really good defense (that WILL age out), good special teams (finally), adn we HAD the best RB in the league for nearly a decade. We might be letting all that slip away due to a very long run wherein the GM failed to provide a QB or OL. Its just not good enough. Spielmans had plenty of time, a very Deep pocket thanks to WIlf, and little to show for it all.
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Re: The future of the Vikings, part 1: The quarterbacks

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In addition to RB and virtually the entire OL, there are a number of other positions that need examination and consideration too, including QB and WR. Patterson's a free agent. What will it cost to keep him? Thielen's a restricted free agent so... same question.

Who will be the genuine difference-makers on offense, creating matchup problems for opposing defenses?

I think it's a mistake for anybody to think the team is just set with Bradford at QB. I like aspects of his game quite a bit and he's heading into his prime, seemingly getting better but he's also expensive, signed for just one more season, and two franchises have decided he wasn't their future at QB. That doesn't mean those teams were right but we are talking about a QB on his 3rd NFL team without a single winning season and with a career record below .500. Again, some of that has been beyond his control but I think we should acknowledge the difference between having a legitimate NFL starting QB and a QB who might be able to lead a successful postseason run. Bradford's the former and he may be the latter but the jury is still out on him in a pretty big way.... and we don't know if the Vikings e him as a long term solution or a stopgap.

There's very little depth behind Bradford going into this season unless we buy into the idea that Bridgewater will not only be ready to play but ready to play well, which seems unlikely.

Overall, the depth on offense is thin-to-non-existent, depending on which positions we discuss.
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Re: The future of the Vikings, part 1: The quarterbacks

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Mothman wrote:In addition to RB and virtually the entire OL, there are a number of other positions that need examination and consideration too, including QB and WR. Patterson's a free agent. What will it cost to keep him? Thielen's a restricted free agent so... same question.

Who will be the genuine difference-makers on offense, creating matchup problems for opposing defenses?

I think it's a mistake for anybody to think the team is just set with Bradford at QB. I like aspects of his game quite a bit and he's heading into his prime, seemingly getting better but he's also expensive, signed for just one more season, and two franchises have decided he wasn't their future at QB. That doesn't mean those teams were right but we are talking about a QB on his 3rd NFL team without a single winning season and with a career record below .500. Again, some of that has been beyond his control but I think we should acknowledge the difference between having a legitimate NFL starting QB and a QB who might be able to lead a successful postseason run. Bradford's the former and he may be the latter but the jury is still out on him in a pretty big way.... and we don't know if the Vikings e him as a long term solution or a stopgap.

There's very little depth behind Bradford going into this season unless we buy into the idea that Bridgewater will not only be ready to play but ready to play well, which seems unlikely.

Overall, the depth on offense is thin-to-non-existent, depending on which positions we discuss.
From what I have seen Bridgewaters injury rehab was projected at 19 months. It could change some but I don't think I would count on him playing in the upcoming season...just my opinion. We know what happen to Sully & Phil when we was counting on them.
In a few years time Zimmer turned the Defensive around. Lets hope he can do something similar with the offense.
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Re: The future of the Vikings, part 1: The quarterbacks

Post by chicagopurple »

yeah, you are right, he is doing a great job and our RB are real solid players who can carry an offense....how silly of me....every team in the league is trying to recruit our RB by committee away from us.....lol
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Re: The future of the Vikings, part 1: The quarterbacks

Post by Pondering Her Percy »

chicagopurple wrote:Berger is a back up not a starter, on a true contender.

as far a RB, I really do think he will hedge his bet and continue on with one of our current guys. It wouldnt be so frustrating if we werent so very much on the cusp with the rest of the team. We have a really good defense (that WILL age out), good special teams (finally), adn we HAD the best RB in the league for nearly a decade. We might be letting all that slip away due to a very long run wherein the GM failed to provide a QB or OL. Its just not good enough. Spielmans had plenty of time, a very Deep pocket thanks to WIlf, and little to show for it all.
Dude no offense, but I'm not sure where you come up with these views.

Joe Berger has been a top 8 Center according to PFF for the past 2 years now. He is not a back up. He's actually a very good starter.

As for the RB thing, like I said, I have no idea where you get this stuff from. Why would he possibly "hedge his bet" when we had the worst run offense in the NFL. Where does anyone even come up with something like that?

The defense WONT age out if we continue to draft well on that side of the ball. Teddy was good enough to win. He actually had one of the better winning percentages in his first two seasons compared to others in the past. He didnt put up the gaudy numbers but he got the job done. I wouldnt say Spielman failed with Teddy. No less then he went on to make a move for a good QB in Bradford as well. We've had some fairly decent QB play for the past few years now.

Either way, what does QB have anything to do with what we've been talking about. We have a good QB. We are missing OL and RB which isnt impossible to fix.
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Re: The future of the Vikings, part 1: The quarterbacks

Post by Pondering Her Percy »

chicagopurple wrote:yeah, you are right, he is doing a great job and our RB are real solid players who can carry an offense....how silly of me....every team in the league is trying to recruit our RB by committee away from us.....lol
Did anyone refer to RBs being solid players that can carry an offense??

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black :lol:
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Re: The future of the Vikings, part 1: The quarterbacks

Post by Alaskan »

Mothman wrote:In addition to RB and virtually the entire OL, there are a number of other positions that need examination and consideration too, including QB and WR. Patterson's a free agent. What will it cost to keep him? Thielen's a restricted free agent so... same question.

Who will be the genuine difference-makers on offense, creating matchup problems for opposing defenses?

I think it's a mistake for anybody to think the team is just set with Bradford at QB. I like aspects of his game quite a bit and he's heading into his prime, seemingly getting better but he's also expensive, signed for just one more season, and two franchises have decided he wasn't their future at QB. That doesn't mean those teams were right but we are talking about a QB on his 3rd NFL team without a single winning season and with a career record below .500. Again, some of that has been beyond his control but I think we should acknowledge the difference between having a legitimate NFL starting QB and a QB who might be able to lead a successful postseason run. Bradford's the former and he may be the latter but the jury is still out on him in a pretty big way.... and we don't know if the Vikings e him as a long term solution or a stopgap.

There's very little depth behind Bradford going into this season unless we buy into the idea that Bridgewater will not only be ready to play but ready to play well, which seems unlikely.

Overall, the depth on offense is thin-to-non-existent, depending on which positions we discuss.
Solid Post. I agree with this assessment for the most part. A lot of the depth concerns depend on the personal decisions they make over the next few months, so we will have to wait and see how it ends up. My guess is it won't be quite as " doom and gloom " as the picture your painting. QB is the one position where most teams have a significant drop off from there starter. I don't expect the Viking to be much different. Taylor Hienkie will probably be the number 2 heading into the season, assuming reports on Teddy's health are accurate.

As far as the difference makers and mismatches. They have some now in Bradford, Diggs, mcKinnon and Rudolph. I think its safe to say they will retain some of the other FA skill players, if not all of them. They have the draft and FA as well. Of course this is just speculation, but that's what we do here. I think its safe to say that the way this team is being build is a lot like the 15 Bronco's where built. With a dominant defense and average offense. Bronco's 15 offense was 19th overall and there passing game was weak. Manning had something like 9 TD's and 17 Int's and Osweillier was the back-up. They had a STRONG running game with multiple RB's carrying the load. There OLine was below average and still is. I think Bradford and the present weapons at receiver and TE are comparable to what they had in 15. Bradford far outperformed there QB's both in 15 and 16. The present RB's are comparable (with AP). Oline is worse no question. The other difference is the running scheme the Bronco's used. They ran a heavy zone run blocking scheme. These schemes are historically known for being able to do more with less as far as talent on the Oline. Our new offensive coaching staff all have strong Zone Scheme backgrounds.

My point being; With the goal of building a team like the 15 Bronco's (which I believe is what the Viking are shooting for) I don't think they are really all that far away. They were almost there in 15 with much more inexperienced on Defense and a weaker passing game.

Without that Elite Franchise QB, like Rodgers, Luck, Ryan, Brady, Brees, Rivers etc...having an explosive offense is nearly impossible in todays NFL. Finding one of those guys is easier said than done and involves as much luck as skill. So the way I see it, the way the Vikings have chosen to build there roster is a common sense approach given the fact the don't have that Elite QB on the roster right now
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Re: The future of the Vikings, part 1: The quarterbacks

Post by 808vikingsfan »

If the Vikings truly need to replace every position on the OL(which I don't think is the case) , it's not going to happen in a year and we should start looking for a new head coach now.

For the people that see the glass half full, Miami had a struggling OL but it got better as the year went on. I think if there's any position that continuity makes a big difference, it's the OL. Fix the weak links and the OL should be solid by mid-season.

As far as QB depth, every team in the league (except for Dallas) has a huge drop off in depth. It's the nature of the league. You lose your starting QB, your season is essentially over.
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Re: The future of the Vikings, part 1: The quarterbacks

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Alaskan wrote:Solid Post. I agree with this assessment for the most part. A lot of the depth concerns depend on the personal decisions they make over the next few months, so we will have to wait and see how it ends up. My guess is it won't be quite as " doom and gloom " as the picture your painting. QB is the one position where most teams have a significant drop off from there starter. I don't expect the Viking to be much different. Taylor Hienkie will probably be the number 2 heading into the season, assuming reports on Teddy's health are accurate.
It's not my intent to paint a picture of "doom and gloom" because some of the situations I listed can and will be resolved in a positive way. My point was just that the depth and talent questions on the offense aren't limited to OL and RB.
As far as the difference makers and mismatches. They have some now in Bradford, Diggs, mcKinnon and Rudolph.


Those players can create mismatches on the field at times but I should have been more clear: I was referring to big-time difference-makers, the kind of players that force defenses to adapt their game plans to stop them. Peterson's been that kind of player for most of his career. Moss was that kind of player. Fitzgerald has been that sort of player in Arizona and Jones is that player for Atlanta. There are obviously some QBs around the league who fit that description too but I wouldn't put any of the players listed above in that category.
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Re: The future of the Vikings, part 1: The quarterbacks

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808vikingsfan wrote:If the Vikings truly need to replace every position on the OL(which I don't think is the case) , it's not going to happen in a year and we should start looking for a new head coach now.
I don't think they need to replace every position the line but they probably need 4 new starters in the next 2 years and improved depth so they're facing a huge task.
For the people that see the glass half full, Miami had a struggling OL but it got better as the year went on. I think if there's any position that continuity makes a big difference, it's the OL. Fix the weak links and the OL should be solid by mid-season.
The problem is there are weak links across the entire line.
As far as QB depth, every team in the league (except for Dallas) has a huge drop off in depth.
Why do people keep bringing that up as if it makes the need for depth any less important? It doesn't.
It's the nature of the league. You lose your starting QB, your season is essentially over.
More than one team has shown that's not the case.
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Re: The future of the Vikings, part 1: The quarterbacks

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It's not my intent to paint a picture of "doom and gloom" because some of the situations I listed can and will be resolved in a positive way. My point was just that the depth and talent questions on the offense aren't limited to OL and RB.

I understand the point you were making and I agree with it for the most part. The QB backup situation is most likely something that is money related. The way I understand it is teams are willing to roll the dice that there Starter won't miss significant time each season because having a high end back up QB is expensive insurance. Teams would rather allocate capital elsewhere to improve depth. I agree though, they need to evaluate this seriously......Bradford's injury history is extensive.

The "doom and gloom" comment above is as much directed your overall tone regarding the organization and the direction its heading as it was to the comments you made in this post. Don't get me wrong, generally speaking, you make some valid arguments and I respect your position's on most topics even if I don't agree with the substance of the argument. I just see things glass half full with this team, more so than I have in many years.
As far as the difference makers and mismatches. They have some now in Bradford, Diggs, mcKinnon and Rudolph.


Those players can create mismatches on the field at times but I should have been more clear: I was referring to big-time difference-makers, the kind of players that force defenses to adapt their game plans to stop them. Peterson's been that kind of player for most of his career. Moss was that kind of player. Fitzgerald has been that sort of player in Arizona and Jones is that player for Atlanta. There are obviously some QBs around the league who fit that description too but I wouldn't put any of the players listed above in that category.[/quote]

I kind of figured that's what you were getting at with "difference makers". They may have some in Patterson and Diggs, we'll see. Potential is there. To me it seems like they would rather have an offense that keeps defenses off balance with a balanced attack and a lot of ways to beat you depending what your weaknesses are and what the defense is willing to give up. A strong running game is a huge part of that approach though and they have some work to do there. I am not sure if they would need a real " difference maker" if they had a solid offense with depth at each postion and a lot of ways to attack offenses.
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Re: The future of the Vikings, part 1: The quarterbacks

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Alaskan wrote:I understand the point you were making and I agree with it for the most part. The QB backup situation is most likely something that is money related. The way I understand it is teams are willing to roll the dice that there Starter won't miss significant time each season because having a high end back up QB is expensive insurance. Teams would rather allocate capital elsewhere to improve depth. I agree though, they need to evaluate this seriously......Bradford's injury history is extensive.
Money is definitely part of the issue. That's why I'm a big believer in teams investing in quality young QBs in the draft, players with genuine starting potential. The rookie cap makes that affordable for a good 4 years and a player like that can not only provide good short term insurance but can offer long term starting potential.
The "doom and gloom" comment above is as much directed your overall tone regarding the organization and the direction its heading as it was to the comments you made in this post. Don't get me wrong, generally speaking, you make some valid arguments and I respect your position's on most topics even if I don't agree with the substance of the argument. I just see things glass half full with this team, more so than I have in many years.
I think many do and I understand it. I wish I felt the same way because it's more fun but I'm just trying to be honest in my assessment.
I kind of figured that's what you were getting at with "difference makers". They may have some in Patterson and Diggs, we'll see. Potential is there.
It is and I'm hoping Patterson will still be on the team next year. Maybe Treadwell or a rookie will emerge as that kind of player too.
To me it seems like they would rather have an offense that keeps defenses off balance with a balanced attack and a lot of ways to beat you depending what your weaknesses are and what the defense is willing to give up. A strong running game is a huge part of that approach though and they have some work to do there. I am not sure if they would need a real " difference maker" if they had a solid offense with depth at each postion and a lot of ways to attack offenses.
Perhaps not. An offense can certainly be efficient and effective without superstars.
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Re: The future of the Vikings, part 1: The quarterbacks

Post by Alaskan »

Money is definitely part of the issue. That's why I'm a big believer in teams investing in quality young QBs in the draft, players with genuine starting potential. The rookie cap makes that affordable for a good 4 years and a player like that can not only provide good short term insurance but can offer long term starting potential.

Agreed! They can also create some equity if they develop the young asset properly. They can draft a 2nd, 3rd, 4th round QB and turn them into a net gain in trading for draft picks. Quality QB's are always in high demand. The hard part is, it is difficult to identify those young QB's with that potential.
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Re: The future of the Vikings, part 1: The quarterbacks

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808vikingsfan wrote:If the Vikings truly need to replace every position on the OL(which I don't think is the case) , it's not going to happen in a year and we should start looking for a new head coach now.
No we definitely don't need to replace everyone on the OL. Thats an overreaction. But to have to look for a new coach right now doesnt make much sense to me. Just because they didnt assess the OL the way people would like the past few years doesnt mean they won't do it this year. It seems like some just want to continue to look at the past and think it's a given for whats to come in the future. I've seen a lot of that on here and I don't believe thats the case.
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Re: The future of the Vikings, part 1: The quarterbacks

Post by 808vikingsfan »

Mothman wrote: I don't think they need to replace every position the line but they probably need 4 new starters in the next 2 years and improved depth so they're facing a huge task.
The problem is there are weak links across the entire line.
How can you accurately grade each linemen since they were either playing out of position, or the player adjacent was always someone different? I think even TJ wouldn't look at bad if he had a second year on the right side instead of being thrown on the left.
Why do people keep bringing that up as if it makes the need for depth any less important? It doesn't.
Less important, no. Less likely, yes.
I'm sure there has but I would guess the odds aren't very great.
Did a quick search. 7 backup QBs have won a SB. Out of those seven, 2 were Heisman Trophy winners (Staubach, Plunkett), and one was the 6th overall pick (Dilfer). The other 4? Bradshaw, Brady, Warner, and Hostettler. These QBs are more starters in waiting than backup material (except for Dilfer and Hos).
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